This page is an example of the diversity that is now available to the UK Government when producing information material. All of the services listed below were procured under the new pan Government agreement for translation services 05/GEN/25.

This project was possible because the Scottish Prison Service invested time talking to K International before the project began. We helped them with the origination of the source material which saved time (and money) later on in the process.

If you have a similar project or need some help with linguistic issues K International’s Government Team are happy to help, they can be contacted on 01908 572600 or info@k-international.com.

The Project

The brief was to produce an interactive DVD containing induction material for a collection of prisons in Scotland. The Scottish Prison Service wanted the DVD to form part of the induction process that all prisoners are subjected to on their first few days in jail. Being in an on-screen format makes the information more understandable (and therefore has more value) than the printed alternative.

Because of the diversity in Scotland’s prison population the DVD needed to be provided in the following languages, Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Kurdish, Polish, Punjabi, Spanish, Urdu, British Sign Language and Braille.

Before the project began the induction material existed as a collection of Microsoft PowerPoint slides, these were to be used as the design template for the movie files.

A key aspect of the project was the budget, the final cost had to be comparable with the cost of providing the final DVD had to be comparable with the cost of producing printed versions of the same information.

The Process

Preparation. Converting the PowerPoint files into PNG format (this a preferred format to jpg when working in the medium) the slides were placed into Sony Vegas to form the basis of the English movie. Scripts were prepared and spell checked.

At this stage a demo English version was prepared and sent to the client for comment. Only after we are all satisfied with this version will we begin the translation and production of the other language versions.

Translation. The script and slides were translated into the 8 languages listed above. All of the translators employed on this project were professional mother tongue translators experienced in this sector. After translation the text was proofread, making sure the copy is 100% correct before it is used in the video editing and recording process.

Record. Using our in-house recording studio we brought in professional voice-over artists to record each language. Pro Tools was used to record the voice directly into the software (this process saves editing time later on). With the voice-over artist present we edited the sound files, clipping each one to match each slide, this was listened to more than once by the artist and when they were happy the audio files were bounced out of Pro Tools and imported into Sony Sound Forge. Sound Forge is used to remove any background noise and makes it easier to import to the next stage of the process.

Film the British Sign Language. The British Sign Language (BSL) was filmed in front of our blue screen in the media studio. The blue screen was lit independently of the subject using a three point lighting scheme, this is very important as a consistent colour and gradient is required for the blue screen to function properly.

After a round of tests (to determine position and lighting) and a quick warm up we began the filming. The Sign Language script was read out loud and the Signer began to sign in real time. The video was captured using a Canon XL2 and recorded directly into the video editing package (this saves time later on in the project). In total we took two takes of the whole recording.

The Sign Language Video was then opened up in Sony Vegas and we added a blue Croma key to remove the blue background. The video of the Sign Language Interpreter was then placed in front of the slides, synced with the English audio and rendered for use in the DVD authoring software.

Making the DVD. After all aspects of production were complete (i.e. translation, voice-overs and the BSL) we began putting the DVD together. Firstly we use Sony Vegas to build separate movies (one for each language). Markers were placed at the start of each slide, these were used later on to form the chapters that would control the interaction of the project. Some issues were found at this stage such as the Urdu and Polish recordings being very long, as a work-around new movies were made for these languages. After each language variant was complete they were rendered and imported into Adobe Encore, this piece of software is used to make the interaction aspect of the DVD.

The BSL video was also brought into the project at this stage. As can be seen from the screen shot above all languages can be selected from the menu.

Distribution. After the project was complete, we burnt the project to DVD, designed the artwork for DVD case and sent the DVDs to the relevant places.

The Result

This project was delivered within the timescales requested and to budget. As with all projects at K International we always ask for feedback after the project, this is included below.

“ The Scottish Prison Service in its drive to provide information to prisoners in different accessible formats has made available on DVD, its core national induction programme for prisoners. The DVD is available in a number of different languages and also includes versions for those with visual and hearing impairments. K International Translation Service have been instrumental in assisting the Scottish Prison Service to deliver this information in meeting the needs of prisoners. ”

Need Help?

K International are here to help you with any linguistic project, no matter the amount of languages or the format you need it returned in. Call the Government Team on 01908 572600 or info@k-international.com we’ll be happy to help you with your project.